No charges filed against MJD in alleged bar fight

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Maurice Jones-Drew will not be charged in connection with an alleged bar fight last month.

The State Attorney's Office filed an "announcement of no information" Tuesday, saying "based on the facts and the law, the state cannot establish the charge beyond and to the exclusion of all reasonable doubt."

Jones-Drew had been accused of punching a bouncer at a restaurant/bar in St. Augustine over Memorial Day weekend.

"Naturally I am pleased with this result and look forward to focusing on football," Jones-Drew said in a statement. "My rehab is going well, and I'm anxious to join my teammates at the start of training camp."

Jones-Drew declined to answer questions about the incident earlier this month. His agent, though, insisted his client was not involved in an altercation with bouncer Kasim Howard at the Conch House on May 26. The bouncer's attorney, meanwhile, called it an "unprovoked attack."

Attorney Patrick Canan said Tuesday he plans to file a civil suit against Jones-Drew. Canan has said that videotape evidence supported his client's claim.

But the state attorney said those videos did not clearly show who was involved in the altercation. It also was unclear that Howard was working as security because he was wearing a plain, bright green shirt while the rest of the security staff was wearing orange tops.

"It is not clear in the video if K. Howard grabbed, or struck from behind, what appears to be another black male," the report said. "It appears as though K. Howard was struck and knocked down a very short time after grabbing this unknown black male. It is not evident who struck K. Howard based on this video."

In one of two videos released Tuesday, Howard is seen scuffling with several people. He removes his shirt as security personnel carry others away from the crowded deck. A second video shows Jones-Drew and another man exiting the bar, escorted by employees wearing orange shirts. Howard follows about a minute later.

The incident happened days after Jones-Drew decided to skip organized team activities to work out on his own in Miami.

Jones-Drew had Lisfranc surgery on his left foot in December, spent several months in a walking boot and was unable to fully run until recently.

He was admittedly out of shape when the team's offseason program began in April, but looked to be in considerably better shape when he returned for a three-day minicamp earlier this month.

Jones-Drew has 7,268 yards rushing, 2,559 yards receiving and 76 total touchdowns in seven years with the team.